Conquest Eclipse among top choices for Chandelier

The Grade 1 Chandelier Stakes at Santa Anita on Saturday is the second of four Win and You’re In Challenge Series races for the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, which will be run Nov. 1 at Santa Anita.

The remaining Win and You’re In races are the $400,000 Alcibiades at Keeneland on Oct. 3 and the $500,000 Frizette at Belmont Park on Oct. 4. Cristina’s Journey, trained by Dale Romans, is guaranteed a fees-paid berth in the Juvenile Fillies for having won the Pocahontas at Churchill Downs.

Conquest Eclipse will be among the top choices in the $300,000 Chandelier for trainer Mark Casse. Conquest Eclipse won her maiden over dirt at Churchill Downs in June and finished third, beaten a length under Corey Nakatani, in the Del Mar Debutante over Polytrack on Aug. 30. Neither Sunset Glow nor Her Emmynency, the top two finishers in the Debutante, will run in the Chandelier.

“I was pleased with the Debutante,” Casse said. “We were chasing a few fast fillies, and I wasn’t sure we could run them down. Corey has breezed her the last few times, and he says she is getting over the dirt much better than the synthetic.”

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Conquest Eclipse, by Malibu Moon, won her maiden on the lead going six furlongs. She relaxed early in the seven-furlong Debutante and rallied from off the pace. Casse does not expect her to have any trouble with the 1 1/16 miles of the Chandelier.

“I think she wants to run from behind,” he said. “I was surprised when she ended up on the lead first time out. With the added distance of the Chandelier, I think she’ll probably be just off the pace.”

Sunset Glow may go on turf or dirt

Sunset Glow won her maiden on turf at Belmont Park, finished second in the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot, and won both the Grade 2 Sorrento and Grade 1 Debutante over Polytrack at Del Mar this summer for trainer Wesley Ward. She currently is based at Keeneland, and although she has yet to race on dirt, she is under consideration for both the Juvenile Fillies and Juvenile Fillies Turf.

On Tuesday, Sunset Glow worked five furlongs around the dogs on the Keeneland turf in 1:02.

“You’d think after all the traveling she’s done she’d be tipping in the other direction, but she had her chin to her chest in the breeze,” Ward said Wednesday morning. “It was a very fast time around the dogs.”

Ward has not decided whether Sunset Glow will race prior to the Breeders’ Cup.

“More likely than not, we’ll go straight to the Breeders’ Cup,” he said. “She’s going to tell us what to do.”

Pletcher splitting up the troops

Todd Pletcher has three possibilities for the Juvenile Fillies: Angela Renee, who has finished second in the Adirondack and third in the Spinaway; Fashion Alert, the undefeated winner of the Schuylerville and Astoria; and the impressive Saratoga maiden winner Feathered.

Pletcher plans to run Fashion Alert in the Alcibiades and Feathered in the Frizette. On Wednesday morning, Pletcher entered Angela Renee in the Chandelier. If he decides to run, Angela Renee will fly to California on Thursday.

– additional reporting by David Grening